Online Missions
– Article Intro (p.1)
– Drone (p.2)
– Scout (p.3)
– Trooper (p.4)
– Commander (p.5)
– General (p.6)
– Tsviet (p.7)
Missions: DG Drone
Anger of the Phantom Beast
King of Chaos
DG Drone 2nd Promotion Exam
DG Drone 1st Promotion Exam
DG Scout 3rd Promotion Exam
Beginner Course Part 1
Beginner Course Part 2
Beginner Course Part 3
Map Exercises
Collector’s Mind
Dual Horn Battlefield
Sniper Threat
Steel Wall
Double Attack
Silent Killing
Anger of the Phantom Beast 《SPECIAL》
The mission description has not been preserved.
| Implemented | September 7 |
| Map | Huge Facility |
| Maximum Participants | [Unknown: 4 or more] |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, ?? RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Defeat ??? |
| Conditions for Defeat | Allies Annihilated (2 respawns) / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Wooden Moogle Doll |
| Time Limit | 5 Minutes |
Mystique is added to this boss battle by having the creature referred to as “???”, even though all players will have been aware that this is Galian Beast, Vincent’s first transformation, that they are fighting.
The online-exclusive Wooden Moogle Doll [木彫りのモーグリ人形] gained by defeating Galian Beast could be sold for 15000 gil. Given how relatively easy the Galian Beast mission was, repeatedly clearing the mission to gain a Wooden Moogle Doll and sell it was a reasonably convenient way of farming gil during the final month of the online multiplayer.
The defeat condition “Allies Annihilated” refers to all players being unable to fight. Each player character had two respawns per battle. Outside of this brief period from September 7 – September 29 in 2006, players have never gotten a chance to fight against Galian Beast.
King of Chaos 《SPECIAL》
The mission description has not been preserved.
| Implemented | September 7 |
| Map | DG |
| Maximum Participants | [Unknown: 4 or more] |
| Mission Objective | Defeat ??? |
| Conditions for Defeat | [KO- and respawn conditions unknown] / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Gold-Plated Moogle Doll |
| Time Limit | [Unknown: Over 3 minutes] |
Even less text has been preserved here compared to that of “Anger of the Phantom Beast”. The mission objective written above is based on reasonable assumption since we observe in a screenshot that Chaos is called “???” in-game, just like Galian Beast.
The multiplayer-exclusive Gold-Plated Moogle Doll could be sold for 20000 gil. In Chapter 10 of the Single Player, it is possible to acquire a Gold Moogle Doll which can then be sold for 35000 gil. Add to this the “Silver Moogle Doll”, which was added to the main offline game after the original Japanese release, and we know of four moogle dolls in Dirge of Cerberus.
| Moogle Doll | Selling Price in Gil |
| Silver Moogle Doll | 5000 |
| Wooden Moogle Doll | 15000 |
| Gold-Plated Moogle Doll | 20000 |
| Gold Moogle Doll | 35000 |
At the very end of the penultimate Extra Mission, “Stronghold Impervious”, the player get to fight a powered-down version of Chaos. Although an underwhelming fight, it is the closest we can currently get to the showdown that once existed in the online mode.
DG Drone 2nd Promotion Exam 《★★》
| Promotion exam to DG Drone 2nd. Defeating enemies quickly and preventing sieges is fundamental to fighting. Defeat the specified number of Beast Soldiers within the time limit. |
| How to Unlock | Battle three times then speak to Officer |
| Map | Jungle |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Mission Objective | Defeat 10 Beast Soldiers |
| Conditions for Defeat | Suffer a KO / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Promoted to DG Drone 2nd Class |
| Time Limit | 5 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 7500 Gil |
After getting promoted to Drone 2nd, the Officer would give you the standard DG Soldier Mask.
By standing on top of the boxes in the area, the player could attack the Beast Soldiers from a safe distance and clear the mission easily. For experienced players it would be easy enough to just shoot the Beast Soldiers while running and evading.
DG Drone 1st Promotion Exam 《★★》
| Promotion exam to DG Drone 1st. Throwing caution to the wind and focusing on assaulting the enemy base at once may at times also be an effective strategy. Destroy and invade the enemy base within the time limit. |
| How to Unlock | Reach 4000 Ranking Points [1000 or 1100 RP from September 7] |
| Map | Wastelands |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, 18 RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Destroy & Invade the Enemy Base |
| Conditions for Defeat | Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Promoted to DG Drone 1st Class |
| Time Limit | 5 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 7500 Gil |
Only by stepping on the goal point after destroying the enemy base would the mission count as a success. Enemy bases/stations like these were never included outside of the online mode.
If you read the strategy for this mission on FFSG, you will find that it is referring to limit breaks that are triggered by expending MP and that the Mako Points of the area can be utilized. This strategy was only relevant to the beta phase of the multiplayer however. After the beta testing in 2005, limit breaks were changed to not use the player’s MP bar but instead be triggered by the “Limit Breaker” item. All Mako Points, the pools of mako that are regularly found when playing as Vincent Valentine, were scrapped for the 2006 era of the online mode. The problem with using FFSG as a source is that it contains relics of strategies written for the beta version.
DG Scout 3rd Promotion Exam 《★★★》
| Promotion exam to DG Scout 3rd. A number of DG Soldiers carrying Mako Capsules have been deployed in the sewer. Collect all Mako Capsules within the time limit. |
| How to Unlock | Reach 7000 Ranking Points [Maybe 1000 or 1100 RP from September 7] |
| Map | Sewer |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, ?? RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Collect 5 Mako Capsules |
| Conditions for Defeat | Suffer 3 KOs / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Promoted to DG Scout 3rd Class |
| Time Limit | 4 Minutes 30 Seconds |
| Pay to have cleared | 12000 Gil |
The exam is generous with allowing 3 KOs, but when the player dies they would also drop Mako Capsules they had collected. Keeping track of where you died was thusly important when aiming to retrieve the capsules. It is unknown if the player would drop all capsules or only one at a time upon a KO.
Because some enemies holding the Mako Capsules didn’t remain stationary, the positions of the capsules would change depending on where you defeated them. This is why these two maps, created by bloggers Cloze and monster_78 respectively, pointing out the location of the Mako Capsules differ slightly.
Cloze’s recording shows us that the time limit was 4 minutes and 30 seconds. FFSG writes the time limit as 10 minutes, which may be a plain error or a relic of the beta testing phase.
Beginner Course Part 1 《★》
| <Aim for the head> We have stationed special DG Soldiers who nullify all forms of damage aside from head damage. Defeat all of them using the equipment provided. Melee attacks are forbidden. |
| Map | Battlefield Ruins |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 300 HB, 3 Potions |
| Mission Objective | Defeat 5 DG Soldiers |
| Conditions for Defeat | Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | 300 Gil |
| Time Limit | 60 Minutes |
| Prohibited | Melee |
| Pay to have cleared | 2000 Gil |
Auto-lock equipment was scarce in the online mode and you could not simply change to auto-lock via a setting in the configurations. Ergo, it was important to master the manual scope early on and learn to headshot enemies as that is typically where their weak spot was located.
The screenshot shows that only the single handgun was allowed for use in this mission, as the interface to the lower left is lacking the “1 2 3” to signify the three weapon slots that the player can normally switch between.
Beginner Course Part 2 《★》
| Beginner MS where only headshots are effective. While avoiding the Guard Hound, defeat 3 moving DG Soldiers with headshots using only a handgun. |
| Map | Battlefield Ruins |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 300 HB, 3 Potions |
| Mission Objective | Defeat 3 DG Soldiers |
| Conditions for Defeat | Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | 500 Gil |
| Time Limit | 60 Minutes |
| Prohibited | Melee |
| Pay to have cleared | 2000 Gil |
Beginner Course Part 3 《★》
|
<Effectively using arc drawing weapons> Attack enemies hidden behind cover with Grenades and Fire. |
| Implemented | February 27 |
| Map | Church |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 3 Grenades |
| Mission Objective | Defeat 14 DG Commanders |
| Conditions for Defeat | Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | 1000 Gil |
| Time Limit | 60 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 2000 Gil |
For the 2006 era, grenades were introduced and the Fire spell was changed to fly in an arc rather than a straight line.
During online beta testing and in all offline Dirge of Cerberus content, the Fire Materia will send a shot that travels in a straight line.
Map Exercises 《★》
Ideal missions for getting familiar with the topography and layout of maps, practicing with weapons etc. Each one had a difficulty level of one star.
As new maps were added along with the game’s version updates, new map exercises were accordingly added. By the final month of the multiplayer there were a total of 26 map exercises. However we only have the description saved for the Church map exercise.
Screenshots make us confident that most if not all maps had a standard time limit set to 60 minutes. With nine maps it has been reported that the cost to have TSV Pullum clear a map exercise was 2000 gil and it would not be surprising if this cost applied to all maps. The standard initial supplies are supposed to have been 36 Handgun Bullets, 18 Rifle Bullets and 60 Machine Gun Bullets.
– Church map exercise
| Battle Entry |
| Church map exercise 《★》 |
| Learning the lay of the land is the first step towards victory. We have stationed several suitable opponents at the church. It would perhaps be a good idea to get in some basic skills training as well. |
| Possible No. of participants: Max 1 |
| Mission Objective: Defeat 30 DG Soldiers |
| Conditions for Defeat: Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward: 1000 gil |
| Entry Requirements : None |
| Recruitment Comment: Let’s all strategize together |
| OK |
| Entry into the room is restricted due to password and ranking points settings |
– Jungle map exercise
– Wastelands map exercise
– Sewer map exercise
– Kalm Streets map exercise
There are in fact two versions of this map: The standard version with lots of boxes in the northwest square, where it is also possible to climb the central structure, then the version used for the battle against Arch Azul. The latter version has removed all the boxes and the central structure is no longer accessible. Presumably the map exercise only made use of the former.
– Train Graveyard map exercise
– Battlefield Ruins map exercise
– Bridge map exercise
Implemented: February 16
– Huge Facility map exercise
Implemented: February 27
– Major Fault map exercise
Implemented: February 27
– Desert map exercise
Implemented: March 9
– Warehouse map exercise
Implemented: March 24
– Plateau map exercise
Implemented: March 24
– In Front of Mako Reactor map exercise
Implemented: April 7
– Laboratory map exercise
Implemented: April 20
– Ruins map exercise
Implemented: April 20
– Shinra Building map exercise
Implemented: May 19
– Roof map exercise
Implemented: May 19
– Processing Plant map exercise
Implemented: May 19
– Temple map exercise
Implemented: June 26
– Fort map practice
Implemented: June 26
– City map exercise
Implemented: June 26
– DG map exercise
Implemented: July 18
– Snowy Mountain map exercise
Implemented: July 18
– Valley map exercise
Implemented: July 18
– Old Administrative Building map exercise
Implemented: August 17
Areas that never got map exercise missions attached to them, though they were used for other missions, were Shinra Manor and Weiss’s Throne Room.
There is also the great “Proving Grounds” that didn’t get its own map exercise. The “Proving Grounds” was a combination of eight maps: Valley, Battlefield Ruins, Huge Facility, Roof, Major Fault, Desert, Plateau and Ruins. It is unknown exactly how these eight different terrains were stitched together to form one coherent battle map. No screenshots exist that clearly identify as belonging to the Proving Grounds.
Roof, Temple, Fort, City, Snowy Mountain and Old Administrative Building were never used for the offline-only releases. Valley was used to a limited capacity in Dirge of Cerberus: International, where it was used for a cutscene with Shelke and Rosso.
Collector’s Mind 《★》
| First let’s do a simple skill test. We placed Mako Capsules in certain places at the church. Find and obtain all the Mako Capsules within the time limit. |
| Map | Church |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, 18 RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Collect 7 Mako Capsules |
| Conditions for Defeat | Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | +10 Ranking Points |
| Time Limit | 10 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 2000 Gil |
Collector’s Mind was carried over to the offline-only releases as Extra Mission #11. There the mission objective became to collect 10 Mini EX Medals within 5 minutes. The coordinates for the Mako Capsules were re-used for the medals, with few exceptions.
In blogger Cloze’s map for the online MS, we find that five capsules (blue dots) had fixed positions and would appear every time. The remaining two capsules could appear in five potential spots (purple dots). This is different from the Extra Mission variation, where the collectibles have set positions that are the same each time. The yellow star represent the player’s starting point, which here is a distance further to the northwest than it is in the Extra Mission.
On February 27, the Event Viewer menu “<Past Chapter: Deepground>” was added for online players. As you destroyed memory capsules found in the online missions, cutscenes from the mode would be unlocked to the Event Viewer.
The first memory capsule was found in Collector’s Mind in coordinate D-10.
Destroying the capsule unlocked Scene 1 “A SOLDIER Wakes” to the Event Viewer.
The mission held a quest item called “Fuzzy Seed”. After handing it over to DGSC Hiren in Area 4 of Deepground and she would grow the Fuzzy Seed into a Dandelion for you. Giving the Dandelion to researcher Este-D in Area 2 would then, if luck was in your favor, result in you getting a Gas Mask.
Dual Horn Battlefield 《★★》
| Defeat the huge rare animal, “Dual Horn” inhabiting the wilderness. Since the target’s strength deviates from normal, co-operation is recommended. |
| Map | Wastelands |
| Maximum Participants | 3 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, 18 RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Defeat the Dual Horn |
| Conditions for Defeat | Suffer 6 KOs / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | +40 Ranking Points |
| Time Limit | 7 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 5000 Gil |
This one was adapted into Extra Mission #3, “Wastelings”. The time limit was removed and the player could no longer jump onto the platforms below the stone arch. Applying the strategy of falling down onto these platforms was recommended in many online missions that involved the Wastelands map. With how powerful Vincent Valentine is compared to the online player it makes sense to remove the advantage of these platforms. As Vincent, you can boost the power of your bullets by increasing your killchain. This mechanic was not available in the online mode.
For many online players this mission acted as an introduction to the importance of team work. If the team (or the lone player) accumulated 6 KOs, the mission would be lost. Ergo, even if your player was still alive you could be dragged down by the poor performance of your teammates and end up failing the mission.
While the platforms below the stone arch could be used to great advantage, they worked even better if you had teammates to lure away enemies and drop down ammo to those on the platform(s).
Sniper Threat 《Trial》
| We will simulate an anti-Sniper battle. Take down the DG Soldiers sniping from afar, and co-operate to destroy as many as possible. |
| Map | Wastelands |
| Maximum Participants | 3 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, 18 RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Defeat DG Soldiers |
| Conditions for Defeat | Suffer 3 KOs / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Ranking Points based on performance |
| Time Limit | 5 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 2000 Gil |
Normal Deepground soldiers and Beast Soldiers would also appear in this mission, but defeating them would not count towards your final evaluation.
Here is Cloze’s map showing the position of each sniper.
Steel Wall 《★★★》
| We will simulate a surprise attack operation. Destroy the enemy base and invade the set area within the time limit. Co-operation will be essential for taking control. |
| Map | Sewer |
| Maximum Participants | 6 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, 18 RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Destroy & Invade the Enemy Base |
| Conditions for Defeat | Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | +95 Ranking Points |
| Time Limit | 5 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 8000 Gil |
Both FFSG and the DCFFVII Wiki write that the reward was +50 ranking points, when Nekomimi’s recording clearly shows the reward as being +95 RP. This is an example where it is possible that the disparity is due to a version update increasing the RP reward. Nekomimi’s recording was made around August 23 in 2006 but we do not have footage from earlier in the year that might confirm that the reward was once +50 RP.
As reported by blogger kupoa, the beta version of Steel Wall allowed a maximum of 8 participants. Sounds like overkill! This was reduced to 6 participants in the retail edition.
Double Attack 《Trial》
| A surprise ambush has caught us in a pincer. Endure the enemy’s assault and destroy as many of them as possible. How you co-operate with your partner will determine whether you live or die. |
| Map | Kalm Streets |
| Maximum Participants | 2 |
| Initial Supplies | 36 HB, 18 RB, 60 MB |
| Mission Objective | Defeat DG Soldiers & SOLDIER |
| Conditions for Defeat | Suffer 2 KOs / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | Ranking Points based on performance |
| Time Limit | 5 Minutes |
| Pay to have cleared | 2000 Gil |
FFSG lists 1 KO as all needed for a failed mission while the DCFFVII Wiki lists 2 KOs as the defeat condition. Whichever one is true, cooperation and keeping each other alive was important when two players attempted this trial mission.
Silent Killing 《★★★★》
| The DG Commander is in the 2nd floor of a building by the central square. He’s taking down DG Soldiers with a handgun customized for assassinations. Snipe down the DG Commander. |
| Implemented | February 27 |
| Map | Kalm Streets |
| Maximum Participants | 1 |
| Initial Supplies | 9 HB |
| Mission Objective | Defeat the DG Commander |
| Conditions for Defeat | Suffer a KO / Exceed Time Limit |
| Reward | +40 Ranking Points |
| Time Limit | 10 Minutes |
| Prohibited | Magic |
| Pay to have cleared | 12000 Gil |
The player was granted fewer bullets than there were enemies! Silent Killing was a great test of skill and planning as the player had to make every bullet count, compensate for the lack of ammo with melee attacks and simply trying to stay alive.
Going by Cloze’s recording, only one weapon slot was available and you only had nine handgun bullets.
